Valentine’s Day Isn’t About Us – It’s About All Of Us

When you're married, Valentine's Day has a different meaning. It's no longer about us, it's about all of us - kids included. So go out as a family!

I can’t remember the last time I made fancy reservations, went jewelry shopping, got the flowers, the card, and did it all up in advance of February 14.

Okay, I still get the flowers and the card, the little things need to still happen, but the big over-the-top stuff about Valentine’s Day? Gone. Long, long gone. I’m married, I have two kids, and the cynicism as to the purpose of the day has set in. And been replaced by a different definition.

It’s not about us anymore. It’s about all of us.

Take last year for our wedding anniversary, for example. My wife and I didn’t hire a sitter, and head off on a romantic rendezvous – we went golfing. With our kids.

It was our 6th anniversary, one that tradition says is celebrated with gifts of iron. So I got her some new golf clubs, she got me a new pull cart, and we took the kids golfing. Because we’re a family, and it’s about all of us.

Same for Valentine’s Day. It’s about all of us.

We take our winter break the week around Valentine’s Day every year because the boys are out of school, there’s a long weekend, and it just works for us. So Valentine’s Day is spent away from home, often at a resort in Mexico making piñatas, and decorations, before settling in to the buffet and beach show – as a family.

It’s not about us, it’s about all of us.

Some have argued Valentine’s Day is about an entirely different kind of love, and not one that should be celebrated by families. I think it’s open to interpretation. If you’re single and dating? Make the night as romantic as you can. Married with kids? Celebrate the love you have together as a family.

The holiday is flexible. It used to be about us, now it’s about all of us.

This year our vacation ends the day before Valentine’s Day meaning we’ll be home in time to have lunch at Boston Pizza and grab a heart-shaped pizza before going out for skiing and snowboarding lessons that night. As a family.

I’d love it if you would make plans to visit Boston Pizza on Valentine’s Day too. Their heart-shaped pizzas are only available this one day a year and a dollar from each lovingly made pie will go towards Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects, which is committed to connecting kids with role models in their communities to ensure they have a bright future.

Ya gotta love that.

Celebrate Valentine's Day at Boston Pizza

Also, from now to February 14, guests can also purchase a Boston Pizza Peel and Win Heart for a minimum donation of $2 where everyone will have the chance to win either $2 off dessert, $5 off $25 on Takeout and Delivery, a free starter, Panookie or Flatbread Pizzatizer.

Heart-shaped pizzas are available in small and medium size (excluding thin crust), with classic or multigrain dough, and can be ordered for dine-in, take-out or delivery in any of Boston Pizza’s gourmet and create-your-own pizza varieties.

So go out and celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family, because it is no longer about the two of you, it’s about all of you.